Reading

The National Curriculum states that:

'English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.'

Intent

At Oliverson’s we believe reading is the master skill. Our commitment is that every child at Oliverson’s will learn to read confidently, fluently and for enjoyment. In order to fulfill this commitment we ensure that all teachers are given training and regular professional development to enable them to be expert teachers of reading. 

We ensure that from the earliest opportunity, we expose our children to a rich array of stories, songs and rhymes and that throughout their time in our school, the curriculum is language rich and reading is a pleasurable and rewarding experience for all.

Implementation

We use a range of reading resources, nominally a whole class shared novel. We understand that a well-chosen text provides rich language models and structures from which children can learn how writing works and the effect it can have on a reader. Therefore we read aloud and share high quality class novels and texts across a range of genres, reflecting a range of writing styles. 

We choose texts that are rich in vocabulary, and that enable children to comprehend beyond their own reading fluency level. 

We know that children draw on their experience of reading when shaping their own writing. When children have explored a range of texts across genres, they form an understanding and appreciation of how language functions and how best to use this when writing themselves.